SMART Recovery

SMART Recovery is a global self-help, mutual aid program that offers a place for people to get together to examine and try to change addictive behaviours that are harmful to themselves and others.

Free weekly meetings run every Thursday in two convenient locations in Leongatha and Foster. Addictive behaviours can include problematic drinking, drug taking, gambling, over-eating, shopping, internet, sex and others.

• Every meeting is run by a trained SMART Recovery Facilitator
• Focus on the addictive behaviour, not the substance itself
• Free and inclusive to people challenged by any type of addiction (e.g. substances, gambling, internet, sex).
• No registration required to attend a group
• 60-90 minutes in duration
• Groups usually range from 5-8 attendees
• Participants may attend if they are still using but cannot come intoxicated to the group
• Identify goals and set an achievable plan for the week ahead
• Focus on the present and future, not the past
• Participants learn evidence-based tools and techniques from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Motivational Interviewing to apply to daily life

Power of choice

SMART Recovery Australia embraces a harm minimisation philosophy, which views control over one’s addictive behaviour as an achievement. Abstinence is not the only way to recover from addiction.

“If someone who drinks for seven days a week is able to change to drinking five or six days, that’s success,” says Josette Freeman, SMART Recovery Australia’s National Program Coordinator. “Some people will say, ‘I really shouldn't be here - I only have two glasses of wine a day’, but if those two glasses are causing problems in your life you’re in the same situation as someone who uses a gram of heroin a day," says Freeman.